


so where do we begin?

by amethyst_stardust



Series: sick of losing soulmates (so where do we begin?) [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), F/M, Gay Keith (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Not Canon Compliant, Pining Keith (Voltron), Post-Season/Series 06, Unrequited Love, fuck season 8 tbh, i'll add more tags as i go along
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-20
Updated: 2019-06-03
Packaged: 2019-08-05 01:23:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16357955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amethyst_stardust/pseuds/amethyst_stardust
Summary: “What I’m trying to say is that….I like you, Lance.”Oh.OH.Usually, Lance would have been elated to find out that Allura, the Princess Allura, returned his feelings. But he barely felt anything. If anything he felt guilty. He didn’t know why. He should have been happy, so why did he feel guilty?(A flash of purple and red flashed through Lance’s mind. He squashed those thoughts before they could become something more.)***Allura confesses to Lance but weirdly enough he doesn't jump from joy, if anything he becomes confused. Either way, Lance is now in a relationship with Allura which hurts Keith.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> (For those who haven't read the first part, it would be great to read the first part too because 1. it'll give you this 'scene' in keith's pov and 2. when i post the second chapter, that second chapter will make more sense after reading the first.)
> 
> I know i said that i was going to post last sunday, but things with school have been mentally draining. Last week i had two breakdowns over this assignment for this class that just drains me and makes me hate school and after that, i couldn't find the will to write. I'm very sorry. I have managed to write a bit so i decided to make this fic into chapters so i can at least give you something instead of giving you nothing. Again, i'm very sorry and i'll try my best to not take to long to finish this fic because i truly like writing this but i've been feeling drained lately.
> 
> Hope you enjoy the chapter.

When Lance woke up surrounded by his family, that's when he knew that everything that had happened—coming back to earth, seeing his family, fighting the robo-beast, _seeing his family_ —was real and it wasn’t him dreaming. For a second, when he was slowly coming back to consciousness, he was afraid that it was all a dream and that he would wake up in Blue’s cockpit, but once he saw his family’s smiling faces his fears vanished.

They talked and told stories, him about his adventures in space and his families about everything he missed, his niece and nephew sitting on the bed with him while his parents and siblings sat in chairs around him. It felt nice. It felt like home.

He was finally home.

Sometime after noon, his parents decided that they should go out and get something to eat. Since it was best that Lance didn’t leave his bed right away, as advised by the nurse when she previously came in, his parents decided to go out and get some food to bring back. Luis decided to take Nadia and Sylvio out for a bit, which was probably better than staying in a cramped hospital room all day. Rachel and Marco decided to walk around a bit, saying they needed to stretch their legs a bit.

Veronica stayed with him, saying that she wanted to spend as much time with him as she could. While he wasn’t surprised by her statement, there was something in her voice that told him that that wasn’t the only reason.

When the others left, Veronica turned towards him and said, “I know you’re leaving out details, so tell me.”

There was something in her tone that told him that there was no room for argument. So he talked.

He told her about the bomb accident that happened when he first joined Voltron. He told her about the near-death scare they had when they were deprived of oxygen. He told her all of the close calls and all the near-death experiences that they went through. It was like a dam opened and everything spilt out, one thing after another.

“...and there was this one time where I actually di-”

Right when he was about to tell her about his death, something he never told anybody else, he was interrupted by a knock on the door.

 

(But from Veronica’s wide eyes and look of shock, it seems like she connected the dots and knew what he was going to say.)

 

Both their heads turned towards the person standing by the door.

Allura.

“Hello, Lance. Hello...Veronica?” Veronica nodded in confirmation, “I see that I must have interrupted something important. I’ll just come by later.”

She was about to leave, but for some reason, Lance stopped her.

“No, wait! You can come in, we weren’t talking about anything important.” When Lance said this, Veronica looked at him with a pointed but confused look.

Allura came back into the room. She was looking at her feet and wringing her fingers. He looked closely at Allura’s face, she was biting her lip and her cheeks were slightly pink. She looked….embarrassed.

“I wanted to talk to you about something. In private.” She discreetly glanced at Veronica, who raised an eyebrow at Lance, but then rushed her next words. “But it’s fine! I can just come back another time. Don’t worry.”

She chuckled nervously and was about to leave again when Veronica got up from her seat on Lance’s bed.

“It’s alright princess. Lance and I can continue our conversation later.” Veronica gave him a pointed look when she said that. Lance gulped. He knew that once Veronica set her mind on something, it would be impossible to change her mind. He knew to expect a stern talking next time they were alone.

After Veronica left, Allura seemed to relax a bit, although she was still tense. She came up to his bed and gestured towards it.

“Is it alright if I sit here?”

Lance nodded although he was slightly confused. He assumed that it was something important if she seemed nervous and wanted to talk in private, but what could Princess Allura want with him?

She sat down and Lance tried to give her his best comforting smile.

For a couple of minutes, she was silent, as if deciding what to say. She kept twiddling her thumbs and opening her mouth to say something before closing it again. It seemed like Lance would have to take initiative.

“So, princess, what did you want to talk about? It must not be something very important if you came to me to talk about it.” He tried to go for a joke since it seemed to always lighten the mood, especially if it was at his expense.

 

(Lance had noticed all the recent jokes that Pidge and Hunk made at his expense. How they would always alienate him from them as if he wasn’t smart enough to be able to keep up with whatever they were talking about. Lance noticed. He noticed that ever since Keith left, he hadn’t really belonged anywhere. Always the seventh wheel. Especially with Lotor and the princess cosying up with each other.

It hurt. The jokes that Pidge and Hunk made about him didn’t feel like jokes anymore, they hurt too much. The fact that he realised that he didn’t actually belong hurt, but Lance never told anyone, because if he was honest, who would care? Maybe his family, but they were just that. His family. Of course they would care, they loved him.)

 

Lance snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Allura clear her throat. He looked at her and she seemed like a different person in comparison to how she looked like a couple of seconds ago. She sat up straighter and she stopped fidgeting. She also had a determined look in her eyes.

“I am not sure if you were aware, but the mice have told me how felt about me.” Lance felt his whole body freeze. He couldn’t believe that the mice told her everything he said. It was meant to be private. She wasn’t supposed to know. He was going to kill the mice the next time he saw them.

 

(Truth be told, a small part of him didn’t care. He didn’t know why, but the fact that Allura knew didn’t bother him. An even smaller part of him kept trying to tell him that he didn’t have as strong of feeling for Allura anymore.)

 

“Um, you weren’t supposed to know that. But you know those mice, they’re such gossips.” Lance chuckled nervously.

Allura softly giggled. “As I was saying, the mice told me how you felt. I wasn’t aware that your feelings for me were that deep. I always thought that you just liked me for my looks and that your flirting was just your way of joking.

Ouch.

That hurt a little.

“But after what the mice have told me, I realised that what you felt for me was something deeper than just a superficial crush.” Lance was sure he resembled a tomato, but Allura wasn’t done yet. “After that, and all the time we spent after, I realised something else too.”

She started fidgeting again and she was blushing again.

“I realised that you are always there for me. When I was losing hope in Naxzela it was you who cheered me up and gave me the confidence which lead us to escaping the planet. When Lotor betrayed us and broke my heart, it was you was there for me and comforted me. It’s always been you, Lance.”

Her eyes were glued to her lap the whole time, but after she was done she looked up at him. That determined look was there, this time seemingly stronger, but Lance was confused. His face must have shown his confusion because Allura slightly deflated.

“What I’m trying to say is that….I like you, Lance.”

Oh.  


_Oh._  


**_OH._ **

Usually, Lance would have been elated to find out that Allura, _the_ Princess Allura, returned his feelings. But he barely felt anything. If anything he felt guilty. He didn’t know why. He should have been happy, so why did he feel guilty?

 

(A flash of purple and red flashed through Lance’s mind. He squashed those thoughts before they could become something more.)

 

He focused on Allura’s face again. She had a blinding smile on her face and her blue eyes were twinkling. She was beautiful, that was a fact. Lance felt something in his heart after seeing her face. He smiled and grabbed her hands.

“R-Really?”

Allura softly giggled and nodded. Then she started leaning in and Lance panicked inside. Not being sure what to do, he closed his eyes and waited until Allura’s lips touched his. It wasn’t anything exciting, just a soft press of lips against lips. Then she pulled away and she flashed another beaming smile at him.

“Is it alright if I lie down with you?”

Lance didn’t know what to say, so he just nodded. Allura took off her shoes and got on the bed. She then cuddled up against Lance’s chest and he wrapped an arm around her frame. They talked for a bit but then Allura fell asleep.

Lance spent the whole time staring at the ceiling, his mind blank.

He felt something in his heart again.

 

(He didn’t want to think about how that thing that he felt in his heart felt heavy. He didn’t want to think about how he didn’t feel anything when Allura kissed him. About how he didn’t feel anything, laying down in bed with Allura, his crush who he has had feelings for forever now.)

 

Lance yawned. He must have been tired, that was probably why he wasn’t reacting properly. He should get some sleep and then when he wakes up he’ll probably actually feel something about Allura’s feelings for him. Because it was impossible for him to not feel anything when since he met her he has been head over heels for her.

Lance yawned again.

Yeah, it was probably because he was tired.

He snuggled closer to Allura and in a few minutes he fell asleep.

 

(He dreamt about purple eyes and a laugh that was rough but soft and affectionate at the same time and a calloused hand holding onto his as those purple eyes stared into him lovingly as Lance said, “We did it. We are a good team.”)

 

(Lance’s mind kept going back to his dream, hours later, when he was being teased by his parents and siblings for being caught sleeping and cuddling with Allura.

He noticed how Veronica had an almost knowing look in her eyes when he declared that they were together. He still couldn’t get those eyes out of his mind, but hours later, when he saw Keith, Lance started to realise something.

His heart went both warm, and heavy from guilt.)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it seems like a writing demon possessed me at 3AM because i somehow managed to write another 1k words and since i felt bad for not posting in a while, i decided to just post what i wrote as another chapter. Once i'm done with this story, i'll put it all together instead of in chapters. Hope you enjoy!

Warmth.

That was the first thing Keith’s mind registered when he woke up. Keith slightly smiled and snuggled more into the warmth. The next thing he noticed was the three arms that were wrapped around him.

Wait. Arms?

That’s when Keith actually woke up. His eyes snapped open and he sat up, only to find himself in a room that didn’t belong to him. Keith was confused. The last thing he remembered was crying on the couch with Adam and Shiro comforting him. How did h-

Keith’s train of thought was interrupted by a soft snore coming from his right. He looked down and found himself facing Shiro’s sleeping face.  He looked behind him and found Adam facing his back, an arm around the younger boy while the other held Shiro’s hand, which were resting in Keith’s lap.

Keith felt his smile soften at the fact that Shiro and Adam—his family—had stayed with him when he needed comforting. It had been hard for him hearing that Allura reciprocated Lance’s feelings. He had always known that he would never have a chance with Lance, his infatuation for the princess very obvious to everyone, however a small part of him had hope, thinking that Allura would never feel the same—as cruel as that sounded. Apparently, Keith had been wrong, and even if he would never admit it, Keith thinks that he may have started falling in love with the Cuban boy. The pain that Keith felt yesterday could almost rival the pain that he felt when he first heard that the Kerberos mission failed and that Shiro was dead.

Looking down at his brother, Keith felt the need to thank him and Adam in some way, so he decided to make them breakfast. The only problem, however, was how in the fuck was Keith supposed to get out of bed without waking them up? God knows they deserve as much sleep as possible.

After what felt like an eternity of shuffling, squirming, and freezing whenever he thought that one of them had woken up, Keith had finally managed to escape their grip and headed towards the kitchen as quietly as possible.

(He couldn’t deny, however, how his heart ached when Shiro and Adam curled up around each other once Keith got out of bed. He truly missed seeing them together but a small part of him felt bitter because he would never be able to have what they have. He felt ashamed by his thoughts.)

After rummaging through the fridge—deeming himself as not enough of a good cook to make something elaborate—Keith had decided to stick with making some french toast and bacon. It shouldn’t be too hard, he was just dipping bread in milk and eggs and frying it.

Apparently, for Keith, that was too hard of a task. His first try of cracking an egg ended up with him accidentally hitting the egg too hard and smashing it on the counter, resulting in egg going all over it. On his second try, he had managed to successfully crack the egg open, but when he went to pour it into the bowl, for some fucking reason Keith missed the bowl entirely and ended up getting egg on the floor. After a third ruined egg—it rolled off the counter and splattered on the floor before Keith could catch it—Keith was finally able to successfully crack an egg and this time got it inside the bowl.

“FUCK YEAH!” he cheered, forgetting about the two sleeping men.

Not even a minute later, the bedroom door opened and Adam walked to the kitchen.

“What are you doing?”

Keith froze in the middle of pouring the milk onto the eggs. He glanced back and forth repeatedly between the bowl in front of him and Adam leaning against one of the counters.

“Um….”

Adam raised an eyebrow.

Keith mumbled a response, suddenly feeling like a child who was caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

“Sorry, what did you say?”

“I was trying to make you guys breakfast…..for, you know, being there for me yesterday.”

Adam smiled fondly at the younger boy and made his way to stand next to him. “That’s sweet of you, Keith, but you do know that you don’t need to do any of this or thank us or anything. We did it cause you’re family and we both love you, Takashi and I. There’s no need to thank us.”

Keith shrugged but smiled slightly at Adam. It felt nice when he called them a family. Adam gave Keith a small hug and then turned to survey Keith’s workspace. It was covered in eggs.

Adam raised an eyebrow at Keith, who grumbled something about eggs, and just sighed and got some cleaning supplies. He gave them to Keith, ordering him to clean up all the egg while he finished Keith's poor attempt at breakfast.

By the time Shiro got up and followed the smell of cinnamon and bacon that led him to the kitchen, three plated filled with french toast and bacon were sat on the breakfast bar, Keith and Adam already occupying two seats, eating as they talked in quiet voices.

Shiro walked up to where Adam was and wrapped an arm around his waist as his other arm—which he activated once he woke up—ruffled Keith's hair. Shiro pressed a small kiss on Adam’s cheek, mumbling a good morning to both of them, and then sat on Keith’s other side, shovelling the delicious food into his mouth as the other two men looked at him amusedly.

Shiro quickly swallowed a bite and turned towards the two. “Who made these, they’re delicious.”

Adam snickered as he said, “Well, Keithy here was trying to make breakfast for us as a way to thank us—which isn’t necessary in the first pace—and after being woken up by him yelling, I went to the kitchen and found it covered in egg. So then I took over his poor attempt-” “HEY!” “-at making french toast and here we are.”

Shiro chuckled at Keith’s pouting face but then smiled softly and placed a hand on his shoulder. “You do know that there’s no need to thank us, right kiddo? That’s what families are for.”

Keith smiled and nodded his head. “I know, but I still felt like I owed you.”

Shiro just ruffled the boy’s hair and the three went back to eating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> P.S. everything that happened to Keith with the eggs happened to me. The egg rolling off the counter happened to me twice, both times when i was baking with a friend and i placed the egg on the counter expecting it to not fall off. It did.


	3. Chapter 3

When Lance woke up, the first thing he noticed was the faint smell of something resembling lavender. It seemed familiar as if he had smelt it before. Probably one of his sisters was wearing i-

Allura.

That was the same almost-lavender smell that he noticed the princess often had. When he had first smelt it—when he first met her at the castle—his mind had brought him back to memories of his mother’s beautiful garden. Memories of lavender and how they used to be his mother’s favourite flower, saying that it was because the flower both meant caution and devotion.

When his half-asleep brain processed who the smell belonged to, memories of the night before rushed into his mind.

That was when he noticed the empty spot next to him—cold—meaning that Allura must have left some time ago.

He felt something heavy in his chest. He couldn’t help but feel disappointed in himself. Whatever. He sighed and turned to his side and pulled the blankets tighter around himself, hoping to catch a couple more minutes of sleep.

That, however, didn’t happen. Not even a couple of seconds later his door flew open and in came Pidge. She jumped onto his bed and pulled the blanket off his body.

“Get up, loser, we’re having a Voltron hang out today.”

Lance grumbled something about evil gremlins and tried to get his blanket back.  Pidge rolled her eyes and started poking him. “Get up, get up, get up, ge-”

“FINE!”

Pidge grinned as the boy sat up, a pout on his face and arms crossed. She got off the bed and threw him a random shirt and pair of pants she found. Lance sighed and got out of bed, knowing that he had no chance of getting any more sleep. 

Pidge waited outside his room as he washed his face and got dressed. Once Lance was finished they made their way to one of the rec rooms, where Pidge said the others were waiting for them.

“So, tell me more about this Voltron hang out thing.” A small part of Lance hoped that Keith would be there. The rest of Lance crushed that thought and he forced himself to think about Allura. He still couldn’t believe that the princess liked him back, let alone that they were dating.

“Lance.”

However, he couldn’t stop thinking about a certain someone with messy black hair and fiery purple eyes.

“ _Lance_.”

He pushed those thoughts back. He was with Allura, a gorgeous, smart,  _ literal _ princess. She was what he’d always wanted, someone that was always so far out of his league that he couldn’t understand how she liked him back. He liked soft, calm, silver-haired princesses, not fiery, aggressive, black-haired part-aliens that although he always seemed angry, Lance knew that he was also soft, caring, and would do anything for his fami-

“Lance!”

Lance snapped out of his thoughts and looked down at an annoyed Pidge. He felt a bitter taste at the back of his throat when he saw Pidge’s expression. He knew he annoyed Pidge sometimes—usually something he did on purpose as a way to distract the green paladin when things got heavy—but they were usually followed by a soft scoff while the girl had a semi-annoyed but fond expression. The expression she had now was anything but.

She looked genuinely annoyed at the fact that he got lost in his thoughts, lips down-turned and eyebrows furrowed. A sudden tension filled the corridor.

Lance forced out a chuckle and wrapped an arm around the girl’s shoulder, hoping to defuse the tension. “Sorry pidgeon, just got lost thinking about how much fun hanging out with you guys will be. So, what were you saying?”

Pidge scoffed, “Of course you weren’t paying attention. You were probably thinking about a pretty girl or fantasizing about Allura.”

Ouch, that hurt. 

Lance knew that he was a flirt, but most of the time it didn’t mean anything to him, he just wanted to make the girl feel appreciated. And listen, he was aware that sometimes he had bad timing but he also made sure to be serious when necessary. As with Allura, it hurt that Pidge dismissed his feelings about her so quickly as if she was just another casual flirt. This wasn’t the first time that it happened either. Both Pidge and Hunk dismissed his feelings after he was trying to talk to them about how hurt he felt by what was happening between Allura and Prince purple L’Oreal. It hurt that his so-called best friends didn’t care enough to comfort him, but at the same time, Lance understood where they were coming from. The war and their tech were more important than some dumb (supposed) unrequited crush. It still hurt though.

 

(At the same time, the fact that Pidge mentioned Allura didn’t hurt as much as it should have. What bothered him the most was that his feelings were being brushed off. Shouldn’t it have bothered him that she made a jab at him by mentioning Allura, though?)

 

“Lance!”

Before Lance could say anything his thoughts were once again interrupted by someone calling out his name.

He looked up only to find himself outside the door of the rec room the other paladins decided to hang out in. Pidge had already walked in and joined Hunk on one of the couches, both already taking out tools and talking about technological stuff that Lance would never be able to understand.

Shiro, who had been the one to call out his name, was sitting at another couch, smiling and leaning against another man who Lance guessed was Adam. Next to them was Keith talking to Romelle, who was sitting on the floor in front of him.

On the last couch was Allura.

Events from yesterday and a couple of minutes ago passed through Lance’s mind. He ignored them.

She looked beautiful, as always. Her silver hair was tied in a loose braid, flowers braided into it, and she was wearing a soft pink sundress. She couldn’t have looked more beautiful and the smile that she had on her face as she talked about something with Adam and Shiro made her even more beautiful.

 

(“Not as beautiful as a certain other boy”, whispered a part of his mind. Lance ignored it.)

 

Next to her there was an empty spot, which he assumed was meant for him. He sat down next to Allura and instantaneously she leaned closer to him. He automatically wrapped an around her shoulder and, without breaking conversation, she flashed him a quick smile and leaned further into him.

It felt natural, but at the same time, it felt forced to him.

Lance forced a grin as he tried to ignore those thoughts. “Hey, guys, what are you talking about?” 

He sees Shiro’s eyes staring at the arm that rested around Allura and Lance tried to ignore the questioning look the older man sent him.

“Well,” Adam responded, “Allura was just telling me about the stuff you guys did when you had free time at the castle. Also, what did you guys eat up there?”

Hunk stopped whatever he and Pidge were talking about to answer his question. “Well most days we had to eat this horrible food goo—no offence Allura and Coran—but sometimes we would get a feast in our honour for liberating a planet or I would occasionally cook if the goo got too bad.”

Lance cringed, thinking about the unappetizing food goo that they had to eat most days.

Adam grinned at that. “Thank god for you, Hunk, and those planets because if the cooking would have been left to either Shiro or Keith you wouldn’t have had a kitchen anymore. You wouldn’t have even had a castle or Voltron anymore and we would have lost to the galra.”

Almost everyone laughed, except for Keith and Shiro who protested against Adam’s claims. This further indulged in more teasing from his part.

“Shush, back before the Kerberos mission I was always the one cooking because one of you would either make a big mess or you would destroy everything you touched. Just this morning, Keith, I had to help you make french toast ‘cause you failed at cracking a couple of eggs. You even made a big mess! The whole kitchen was filled with egg!”

Shiro tried to shrink down in shame as he grumbled something about not being perfect as Keith stuck his middle finger towards Adam and told him to shush.

“You better put that finger down before I chop it off.”

Keith quickly put his finger down, scoffed, but then went back to whatever he was talking about with Romelle.

Lance giggled at the thought of Keith, who was often good at everything, not being able to crack open eggs.

Adam then continued telling stories about him, Keith, and Shiro often making a jab at one of them. It was obvious that Adam, like Shiro, was close family to Keith. It kinda reminded Lance of how his parents acted with him and his siblings, which made him happy because Keith deserved it.

Allura occasionally chimed in with stories of her childhood in Altea and sometimes Hunk or Pidge would also tell their own stories. Even Keith would sometimes chime in, trying to defend himself from Adam’s remarks, and Romelle would also occasionally tell a story of her own. Seeing all of them laugh with each other made Lance happy. They felt like a family.

Almost subconsciously, Lance’s eyes flickered towards Keith, who was now telling Romelle a story. The older boy was wearing a pair of ripped jeans that were cuffed at the ankles and a black shirt that was tucked in. He was wearing what seemed to be worn down chucks and his normally messy hair was now tied up in a loose bun. His hair had gotten longer, long enough to be able to tie up, but there were a couple of strands that were too short to tie up and instead fell around his face, framing it.

Lance had to admit that Keith looked softer in a way. His posture was the most noticeable thing; He was no longer stiff—waiting to pull out his blade and fight at any moment—and he had a small, carefree smile resting on his lips.

 

(Suddenly Keith let out a laugh, probably from something that Romelle had said, and Lance couldn’t deny that at that moment he felt something in his gut churn and something in his heart twinge. He didn’t want to admit it to himself, but Keith looked good like that, all comfortable and happy. Lance couldn’t look away.

As if sensing Lance’s eyes on him, Keith looked up and their eyes locked. His usually dull eyes were now the most beautiful bright purple he’d ever seen.

He must have had a weird expression because all Keith did was vaguely raise an eyebrow before turning back to Romelle.

It made Lance feel weird seeing how close and comfortable Keith and Romelle were with each other. It bothered him that he had known Keith for longer and had never been able to be as close to him as Romelle seemed to be.

“Maybe you’re jealous,” whispered a part of his mind.

Lance felt his face burn at that. Why would he be jealous? He was dating Allura, he had no reason to be jealous. He quickly moved his eyes away from the two and tried to ignore the butterflies he felt in his stomach.)

 

He turned towards Allura, who was talking about the time she played hide and seek with her father in the lions’ hangar, and dropped a quick kiss on the top of her head.

Everyone—except for Allura, who was still finishing her story—stopped what they were doing and eventually Allura also stopped talking, noticing that everyone was staring at them with a weird expression.

There was complete silence for a couple of seconds—a thin blanket of tension wrapping around the room—but it was eventually broken when Allura spoke.

“Uhm, is something the matter?”

At first, the others didn’t say anything but then Hunk said, “Lance just kissed your head? Isn’t that weird? Also, why do you have your arm wrapped around her like that, Lance?”

Lance didn’t know what to say but fortunately—or was it—Allura answered for them.

“Well, we still haven’t talked about when we were gonna tell you guys since this is pretty new,” her eyes flickered to him before turning back to the other, “but after some reflection with myself and my feelings, I went to Lance’s room yesterday and I told him about my feelings for him. He reciprocated them and now we’re dating!”

Allura was grinning as she said this, but Lance had to force himself to smile. This didn’t feel right. As the others bombarded them with questions on when and how, Lance vaguely noticed from the corner of his eye the way that Keith tensed when Allura announced that they were dating. He quickly looked away though when Pidge said “Lance? Why Lance? You could have had any other guy and you went with Lance?”

That hurt. Yeah, he knew that he was no buff and intelligent prince charming, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t likeable. Yeah, the princess was way out of his league, but he wasn’t that annoying to not have any chance at all. Right?

 

(Lance noticed the frown that Shiro had when Pidge said that and it made him relieved that he wasn’t the only one that noticed how much colder Pidge had become with him lately.)

 

“Well Pidge, everything that had happened with….Lotor,” Allura paused before saying his name, “had opened my eyes and made me realise how amazing Lance truly was. He was always there by my side whenever I needed him, especially when times were hard, and he always found a way to cheer me up. He is truly amazing.”

Lance felt himself blush but before anyone could say anything, Keith stood up and rushed out the room, not saying a word.

Romelle looked at the others, flustered, before standing up and walking out the room with an “I’ll go after him.”

Um….what just happened?

He looked at the others but they looked as confused as him, except for Adam and Shiro, who shared sympathetic looks with each other and talked in hushed tones.

Allura looked around, worried, and said, “Did I say something wrong?”

Adam sighed and stood up.

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll go see where they went and I’ll talk to him. I’ll see you guys later.” Then he left too.

“So, did I ever tell you about the time when Adam…”

It was obvious that Shiro was trying to change the subject—which he did badly—but no one else knew what to do, so they just went along with it and before they knew it they mostly forgot about Keith’s outburst. Even when Adam returned from, what Lance assumed, was his talk to Keith.

 

(Lance couldn’t help but notice that neither Keith nor Romelle came back to the room. He couldn’t help but feel something bitter at the back of his throat.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't like the way that pidge an hunk acted towards lance in season 6 i think it was and i decided to add that in here too.
> 
> Also, if you guys want, i was thinking of adding a third part after this is over where lance confronts them about this. Let me know and don't forget to leave comments and kudos (they give me more willpower to write)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry i haven't posted for more than a month! but s8 left me very drained and angry at vld and i couldn't find myself be able to write more for this fic, especially after how s8 ended. Hope you guys can forgive me and i hope you enjoy this chapter!
> 
> (P.S. I see Romelle's and Keith's relationship as strictly platonic. I like to belive that they have that besties/ annoying sibling relationship and while i do think that Keith appears to be ooc, at least in my eyes, and more touchy than usual, i honestly don't care. S8 Keith was very ooc and canon disappointed me, so i'm writing Keith how i want. Hope you guys understand!)

It was as if his body wasn’t listening to his head. 

Even after overhearing their confession last night, a pitiful part of Keith hoped that it wouldn’t last. It was a way to comfort himself, even if it made him feel like a terrible person. But after overhearing what Allura said about Lance—the same things Keith himself yearned to tell him—that was when Keith knew he wouldn’t have a chance against her. So he left the room because he couldn’t deal with his emotions and he needed a way to release them.

He wandered aimlessly around the Garrison, ignoring the cadets in the hallway until he found himself in one of the training areas. Perfect. And so, Keith pulled out his Marmora blade and commenced a training sequence, fighting the new drones they recently added with the help of Altean technology. 

As he fought the drone, Keith tried not to think about his feelings, but that proved to be hard as he couldn’t stop pondering what Allura said about Lance. If he were honest, it would be better if he just moved on from Lance.

But it was hard because Lance was one of the best things that had ever happened to him. At first, he was annoying, but gradually Keith began to see a side of Lance that no one else saw. When Shiro had disappeared, Lance was there by Keith’s side while he mourned his brother and fucked up as a leader. That was when Keith first fell in love with Lance. He realised that he would do anything to protect this boy—and after a couple of late night talks between them back in the castle—it comforted Keith to know that Lance would always have his back too.

So it was hard to move on from Lance, and if he were honest, Keith didn’t want to. Yeah, it hurt like hell seeing Lance with Allura, but every time he saw Lance laugh he felt his heart fill with warmth. And that was the best feeling for Keith.

Just as he was about to start the next level, his voice was interrupted by someone calling off the drone.

Keith turned around, only to find Romelle and Adam standing by the doorway, twin looks of concern on their faces. Keith said nothing and just stared at them until Adam walked towards him, Romelle in tow.

He was instantly enveloped in a hug, and on instinct he wrapped his arms around Adam, resting his cheek against the man’s shoulder. He could feel Romelle wrapping her arms around him, resting her head between his shoulders. Keith felt warm, in a good way. He faintly wished that Shiro and Krolia were here too.

Adam pulled away slightly, keeping his hands on Keith’s shoulders but looking at the boy’s face with concern.

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

Keith wanted to say yes, wanted to tell them how he couldn’t handle seeing them be so happy with each other because it hurt. He felt guilty that he hated that they were happy. He was their friend, he was supposed to be happy for them and stop being a crybaby just because his crush didn't like him back. He wanted to cry and let out all those emotions that he’s been feeling since he first met Lance when they saved Shiro.

He no longer felt that same comfort that he felt last night after talking with Adam and Shiro.

(He felt Romelle hug him tighter.)

However, he held back and just shook his head, saying he just needed space. Even though he knew that Adam didn't mind listening to him talk, Keith couldn’t help but feel guilty for making him worry so much. He should be back in the rec room with Shiro, laughing and enjoying the time they have together without having to worry about Keith.

Keith told him so. 

Adam tried to argue, saying that of course, he would worry about Keith, he was family, but Keith told him that it was okay and that he just needed some space to think. Adam attempted to argue some more but shut up when Romelle assured him that she’d stay with Keith.

Keith tried to argue against her but she retaliated by hugging him so tight he could barely breathe. It felt like getting a hug from Hunk if he were honest.

Adam must have realised that Romelle could be as stubborn as Keith because when he tried to argue again, she just retaliated by making loud noises and telling him to go back to his boyfriend. All throughout, she still hadn’t let Keith go from her constricting hug, only letting go after Adam left, chuckling faintly from Keith’s red face.

Once Romelle let him go, Keith breathed in large gulps of air as Romelle smiled sheepishly at him. He jokingly glared at her and once he caught his breath he said, “Seriously, 'Elle, you don’t have to worry about me. You should be with the others having fun, not here with me raining on your parade. I just need to take my mind off of it and what better way than kicking a robot’s ass?”

Romelle just pouted at him, taking his arm and dragging him out of the training room and to the room the Garrison provided for her. Keith tried to pull his arm away from her once they walk out of the training room, but her grip on his arm was freakishly strong. Stupid alteans and their stupid super strength, Keith grumbled as he gave up and allowed Romelle to drag him into her room.

“So why are we in your room when I could have been training?” Keith asked as Romelle pushed him to sit down on the edge of her bed.

She didn't say anything as she ran into the conjoined bathroom before coming back to her bed with her arms full of various bottles and trinkets, dumping them all on the spot next to Keith.

“We’re going to be doing a self-care day!”

Keith raised an eyebrow at Romelle’s wide grin and small jazz hands but smiled slightly at her adorable actions. He'd be embarrassed to say it out loud, but during the time they were travelling back to the castle after they first found Romelle, the altean became like a little sister to him. He wasn’t afraid to admit, though, that he’d hurt anyone who even though about harming her.

“'Elle, I appreciate what you’re doing but-” He got shushed before he could say more.

The altean jumped on the bed, sitting cross-legged and facing the paladin. “Come on Keith,” she whined, dragging out the ‘e’, “I promise this will take your mind off of things. Altea knows you deserve a break after all the stress you’ve been under lately. Just think of it as a…..what do you humans call that thing where you spend the night together and do that game where you hit each other with pillows and eat food?”

“A sleepover?”

She clapped her hands excitedly. “Yes! A sleeping over-” “Sleepover” “Sleepover! Lance told me all about it, once, when we were in the-” She stopped at the realization of what she said and glanced at Keith, who, other than the slight pain in his eyes to indicate his true feelings, had a small smile on his face. Romelle appeared guilty and attempted to apologize.

“It’s okay, 'Elle, you can say his name.” Romelle nodded but changed the subject. 

She instead showed him all the bottle and trinkets she brought, saying that Krolia gave them to her while Keith was recovering in the hospital. Keith smiled at the sweet image of his usually stoic mom giving a very hyper Romelle such products. Keith knew that, just like him, his mom saw Romelle as family and would do anything to protect her. They—along with Shiro, Adam, and the other paladins—were his family, and because she was family, Keith couldn’t find himself able to say no to Romelle.

So he complied when she told him to sit with his legs crossed, and used the red headband she handed to him to push the stray strands of hair back so they wouldn’t be in the way. Then he allowed Romelle to touch his face while she put this sweet-smelling paste on, claiming her translator told her that it was so his face would look healthy and  _ not like a përbindësh-si krijesë _ , or whatever that was. From Romelle’s giggles, though, he knew that it was probably offensive, so he just pouted as she spread the paste all over his face.

After she finished putting a different paste on her own face, she pulled out a box full of coloured nail polish, talking excitedly about how Lance’s sister ( _ “the very pretty one with the long hair” _ ) gave them to her. Keith decided to ignore Lance’s name and instead watched her as she went through the box in search of a colour.

“AHA!” She then proceeded to pick out a lilac polish, causing Keith to protest against the colour choice, preferring something darker.

“Come on pleeease….” she said, dragging out the ‘e’, “it’ll look so good on you! And look, it matches your eyes!” she then proceeded to do puppy dog eyes.

Keith sighed, suspecting that Shiro had something to do with her using puppy dog eyes, knowing that he was weak for them.

“Fine.”

She squealed and grabbed his left hand, dragging it closer towards her. As she painted his nails, she told him stories of how she used to do something similar with her friends back at the Altean colony and how she would sometimes drag her brother into it. Keith would sometimes input with his own stories of his time with Shiro and Adam, but most of the time he stayed quiet as Romelle talked, finding comfort in her gentle voice.

After she was done and Keith's nails were dry, she insisted that he should paint her nails for her with the same colours, saying that they should match. Keith swore that he has never done anything as hard as painting someone’s nails. Fighting a whole room of enemy galra? No problem. But trying to stay within the nail when Romelle would not stop moving? Fucking hardest thing he’d ever done. 

Needless to say, it took a while.

He ended up not only painting her nail but also painting the skin around it, leaving her fingers a lilac mess. Romelle only laughed it off and told him that he did a pretty good job, although Keith suspects she was just saying that to make him feel better.

After Romelle’s nails dried, they proceeded to wash off the masks. He couldn’t stop touching his face after he felt how soft it was and, if he had to be honest, his face did look healthier and more relaxed.

The rest of the time, they proceeded to watch a conspiracy theory movie Keith insisted that they should watch, which ended up with Romelle falling asleep with her head on his lap, preventing Keith from moving.

(Which he didn’t mind.)

Halfway through the movie’s ending, Keith could feel his eyes starting to close, dead-tired even if it was only two in the afternoon. Just as he was about to nod off, though, Romelle spoke up.

“I know you said that you don’t want to talk about it-” 

“Holy-! You scared the shit out of me ‘Elle.”

“-but maybe it could do you some good. It’s not healthy to keep all these feelings inside you, you should at least be able to speak to someone about it.” she continued, completely unfazed at the fact that she almost caused Keith to go into cardiac arrest. As his brain processed her words, however, he could feel something heavy settle in the pit of his stomach.

“I-”, his voice cracked and he cleared his throat again. “I-I don’t-” He was going to say I don’t want to talk about it, but instead he found himself saying, “I don’t know what to do.” And then, as if a dam broke, everything spilt out. From how he first met Lance, thinking he was an annoying (albeit cute) boy, to him realising his feelings for him. He told her about the bonding moment and the late night talks they used to have after Shiro disappeared, all the while unconsciously running his fingers through her hair, as if for comfort. He told her about leaving for the blade, about how he left so Lance could stay in the team, about how he always thought about Lance in the two years he was in the quantum abyss. He finished off by telling her about him accidentally eavesdropping on Allura’s confession to Lance and about how broken up he felt last night. All throughout, she rubbed small circles on his knee as a way of comfort, which he focused on whenever he felt himself on the edge of a breakdown.

“Keith, if I have to be honest, I always thought that there was something going on between you and Lance.” Keith looked at her confused, wiping away a few stray tears. “I don’t know, I guess when I first saw you guys interact I always thought that there was something deeper going on between you two. I can see it in your eyes that you deeply care about him, and I could see it in his eyes too. It caught me off guard this morning to hear Allura’s announcement, especially since Lance wouldn’t stop staring at you!”

Keith felt himself flush. “R-Really? I mean he was probably thinking of ways to insult my hair or something.” He tried to argue, however, Romelle shook her head vigorously.

“No! He had this look in his eyes that, I swear to Altea, was the same yours have whenever you look at him.”

Keith could only feel himself grow more confused. Romelle was implying that Lance looked at him the same way he looked at Lance. As in, romantically. But that wasn’t possible, was it? He was dating Allura, the girl of his dreams and someone Keith would never be able to surpass. Romelle must have been imagining it. There was no way Lance would ever look at him in any romantical way.

Romelle, as if sensing that his thoughts were spiralling, proceeded. “You’re so strong Keith. I admire you. I don’t know what I would have done if I was in your situation. I know there’s nothing in my power for me to change how things are, and believe me, I wish things were different, but I just want you to know that you’re like a brother to me and if you want me to kick Lance’s butt for hurting you, then just say that word.”

“ROMELLE!” 

She burst in a fit of laughter.

“In all seriousness, though, I want you to know that I’ll be there for you and if you ever need someone to talk to, then I’m here.”

It was weird seeing Romelle, who was usually very hyper and child-like, become so serious. It did warm his heart, though, to know that she, too, saw him as family. Keith feels his lips form a small, but genuine, smile. He then made Romelle sit up so he could hug her, resting his head on top of hers.

“Thanks, 'Elle, the same goes for you. You’re like a little sister to me and I won’t hesitate to punch anyone who even looks at you weirdly.” She giggled. “Even though it hurts, I don’t think I’m ready to move on from Lance, however, if I ever need to I’ll make sure to talk to you.”

They squeezed each other once more before breaking apart and sitting up against the wall to watch another movie.

(This time Romelle’s choice, as she couldn’t stand how  _ ‘absolutely inaccurate and offensive’ _ the previous movie was.)

Keith felt himself smile as he watched Romelle’s eyes light up as Snow White sang. He reached over and ruffled her hair, laughing when she slapped his hand away.

He was proud to be able to call her his little sister.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed reading some Romelle and Keith sibling bonding time and sorry again for such a long wait! We are halfway through now, and while i can't guarantee that i'll be able to post chapters fast, i'll try to finish this fic before the end of March. (Also, while you're here, why don't you check out my most recent fic 'First Love' and give it some love ;D).


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally finished my exams yay! (technically i still have math left on tuesday rip me im terrible at math). Hope you guys enjoy this chapter!
> 
> (i included some spanish in this chapter and i kinda modeled it to the way i spoke spanish. my mom is cuban so i grew up listening to spanish and i know how to speak it and understand it but compared to italian and english, my spanish isn't that good. it's rare for me to speak completely in spanish or for me to even say a full sentence in spanish, resulting in me speaking mostly in english or in italian with spanish getting mixed in there, that's why you're going to find short phrases in spanish that switch into english, because that is essentially how i speak it and i wanted to write them speaking spanish in the way i was more comfortable with. and there will be translations at the end.)

The others left after a while, having tasks of their own to complete. Allura invited him to come along, but he half-mindedly refused. Too many thoughts were running around in his head, but they all shared one thing. Keith. Lance couldn’t stop thinking about what happened earlier. Why did Keith leave so abruptly when Allura announced they were dating? Could it be….that Keith has a crush on Allura?

Lance made a face at that thought. While his girlfriend may be a badass ethereal goddess, she didn’t seem like Keith’s type. Plus, it seemed as if something was going on between him and Romelle from how comfortable they were around each other.

Lance felt his heart twinge and a bitter taste in his mouth as thoughts of Romelle and Keith doing more….non-platonic things filled his mind. He attempted to ignore it by thinking of what he should do in the afternoon, but it proved to be unsuccessful as his mind went back to thinking about Keith rushing out the door.

His thoughts shifted to what happened with the omega shield. Getting blasted by radiation was honestly the worst thing he’d ever felt and all he could think about was how he wouldn’t be able to see his family ever again.

After being part of the war for so long, Lance at some point accepted the fact that he would probably die younger than he expected. He learned to embrace it. At that moment, though, he refused to accept that he was going to die, he didn’t want to die. He was so close to seeing his family again that he was trying his hardest to stay awake. His body, however, didn’t want to co-operate and all he could do while he was screaming in pain was think about how he wouldn’t be able to hug his parents nor his siblings nor his niece and nephew again.

That wasn’t the only though Lance had in his mind, though.

Purple eyes and raven hair and pale skin covered in blood and bruises after hours of training filled his mind. A soft, barely there chuckle and a smile so wide that canines could be seen. Thick eyebrows, furrowed in concern and strong arms crossed over a shirt-clad chest.

Lance didn’t have an explanation as to why he was thinking of Keith as he died.

He didn’t have an explanation as to why Keith's name was on the tip of his tongue when he was brought back by Allura.

He didn’t have an explanation as to why his eyes saw Keith crouching in front of him in concern once he woke up when, in reality, Allura was the one before him and Keith was still working with the blade.

He didn’t have an explanation.

Lance was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn’t notice he wasn’t the only person in the room, only realising when he felt thin fingers yank his ear.

“OW!”

"What’s got your head in the clouds, Leo?"

He opened his mouth to respond, saying that he wasn’t thinking about anything, but no words came out. Veronica must have seen something in his face because her previously teasingly expression softened into one of concern.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Lance had no idea what to say or how to say it. Veronica sat beside him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, rubbing her hand up and down his arm. She looked at him, her eyebrows turned upwards in obvious concern but otherwise remained quiet, giving Lance time to determine what to say.

Lance closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breathes, leaning further against his sister’s side. After minutes of silence, he took one last deep breath before speaking, keeping his eyes closed in fear that seeing his sister’s face may stop the words from coming out.

“Remember yesterday, before Allura came in when I was telling you about what happened in space?”

He heard Veronica take a sharp breath, probably guessing where he was going.

“You’re smart, I’m guessing you already connected the dots but-” Lance swallowed the lump forming in his throat, “I died, Vero.” His voice cracked as he said those words, and like a broken dam, everything flowed out.

“Mierda, Veronica, morí y ustedes no hubieran sabido nada. I died y si no fuera por Allura I wouldn’t have been able to tell mami or papi that I loved them. I wouldn’t have seen you, or Marco or Luis or Raquel ever again. Cojone Vero, tengo diecinueve años y morí y si no fuera por Allura I would’ve stayed dead.”

Veronica cursed and pulled him harder towards her, hugging him tightly.

“What happened Leo?”

Her voice was soft and he could hear the heartbreak behind her words. 

He took another deep breath.

“It was during a mission. We were fixing this shield to protect the planet from the radiation belt but then we lost control and Allura was about to get hit by a blast and I wasn’t thinking, era de instinto and I pushed her away. Ni me di cuenta lo que hice until my whole body felt like it was on fire.”

They were both trying to swallow back tears.

“Puta madre, Vero, fue la cosa más peor en mi vida. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t move, I couldn’t do anything except for sitting there and feeling like my body was going to fall apart. And then everything went black and next thing I know Allura is crouching in front of me looking like she’s about to cry. I knew I was going to die and I thought ‘this is it, I’m nineteen and this is it’, I didn’t expect i-.”

If anyone were to walk in at that moment, they would see that the siblings were both a mess, hugging each other so tight that it looked almost painful, one crying his eyes out while the other trying to comfort the former through their own tears.

No words were spoken for minutes, only the sound of crying and the occasional hiccup could be heard.

“ Tenía  tanto miedo, Vero, and as I was in pain I kept thinking about how I wouldn’t be able to see you guys anymore and how I wouldn’t be able to tell you guys that I love you.”

Lance felt drained.

They didn’t move. They just stayed there holding each other tight, too afraid to let go.

Veronica ran her hand through his hair.

“I’m so glad you came back, Leo. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you didn’t come back. It’s okay to be afraid, that type of stuff sticks with you for a long time, but just so you know, I’m so proud of you hermanito. You fought a war in order to keep the Earth safe and you succeeded Leo. I’m so proud of you.”

She pressed a kiss on the top of his head and he let a couple of tears fall before wiping them away.

“That wasn’t the only thing I thought about as I was dying.”

The room was quiet for a while.

“I don’t know why, but as I was dying I couldn’t stop thinking about Keith. Thoughts of his eyes and his laugh went through my mind and I don’t know why. Why did I think about Keith y no Allura? I mean, I’m supposed to have a crush on her, la bella princesa, right? Just how the cartoons and the movies show them. The knight or soldier always ends up getting the princess. And I did, Vero. I got all I ever wanted, the fame, the appreciation, the princess. So why doesn’t it feel like it’s enough? Why do I feel like something’s missing?

Why can’t I stop thinking about Keith?”

He closed his eyes as he let out a deep breath.

More silence filled the room. To think that before he used to hate the silence, would make himself as loud as possible in order to escape the silence that would inevitably lead him into overthinking himself into a mental breakdown. Now, he appreciated the silence. While it still did lead him to often overthinking things, it became a source of comfort, in a weird way, after he spent all those months by himself after Keith left for the blade.

There he goes again, thinking about Keith.

He didn’t have an explanation as to why.

“No lo  sé,  Leo.” Neither does Veronica apparently. “Tengo una idea as to why but I don’t think you’re ready to hear it yet. I think, I think you should talk with Shiro, he would help you understand better, if my hunch is correct, and I think you should talk to Keith.” He stiffened up. “Not about that, but I mean maybe spend some time with him. From what I heard from the others, you guys were pretty close but this whole time you guys have been on earth I’ve barely seen you talk to each other.”

The back of Lance's mouth tasted bitter. A memory flashed through his mind.

_ “I don’t have time for this”, said an older, more grizzled Keith as he walked past Lance, brushing off Lance’s attempt at a hug. _

“And,” she paused, “I think you should talk with Allura.”

Lance turned his head towards her. “What? Why?”

“Please don’t be mad when I say this.”

“I won’t”

“I don’t think you truly like her Lance.” he tried to protest, saying that yes he did, he’s always liked her, but stopped when he saw Veronica’s expression. “Maybe you used to have a crush on her but I think you grew out of it. I think now you just like the idea of her that you created in an attempt to suppress something else. While she may be what you always wanted, I don’t think she’s the one you need.”

He felt confused. His mind was muddled with several memories of his interactions with Allura and along the line, Allura transformed into Keith and then all Lance could think about were the moments he shared with Keith.

 

_ Keith. _

 

_ Keith. _

 

_ Keith. _

 

_ ‘I don’t think she’s the one you need.’ _

 

_ A smirk. “Heh, like that?” _

 

His mind was muddled and he didn’t understand. Why wasn’t Allura the one he needed? He’d always wanted her, pursued her ever since he caught her as she fell out of the healing pod. He’d always wanted her, so why wasn’t she the one he needed? 

His mind, once again, shifted towards memories of him and Keith.

 

_ Keith. _

 

_ Keith. _

 

_ Keith. _

 

_ A small smile. Arms, for the first time, were uncrossed. “Leave the math to Pidge.” _

 

Lance didn’t understand. He felt overwhelmed.

It must have shown in his face because Veronica decided to cut herself off instead of going any further.

“I’m sorry, I didn't mean to overwhelm you.” Her fingers once again ran through his hair. “I think talking to Keith and Allura would help you. And I think talking to Shiro would help you understand too. I think talking to any of them about what happened with the shield would also help you, better than I could ever do. I will always be there for you Leandro. Me, Marco, Luis, Raquel, Mamá  y Papá. We’ll always be there for you and we’ll always help you, but sometimes it’s more healing to get help from those who went through what you did. 

"Your team, Voltron, is your family. They know what you went through and they know how to help you heal. All we can do is be there to support you, but we can’t pretend to understand what you go through. That’ll just do more harm than good. So take a break, hermanito, and talk to your friends, talk to your girlfriend. If I could, I would do anything I could in order for you to never feel the kind of pain that you’re currently feeling, but I can’t. So sit down with your friends, your other family, and talk with them okay?”

Lance nodded and fully turned towards her to give her a proper hug.

He knew that what Veronica was saying was the truth, that only his friends knew what he truly went through and that they’re truly the only ones who could ever understand. But he also knew that Veronica and his family would help and support him all the time. 

And knowing that, knowing that he had two families that loved him, helped his minds clear up a bit.

Sure, his mind was still a whirlwind of confusing, constantly shifting between thoughts of Allura and Keith and what happened with the omega shield, but he knew that he could talk to any of them about it and that they’d be understanding. And if they weren’t, or if it didn’t work out the way he wanted it to, then he could rely on the fact that his parents and his siblings would be there to pick him up and put him back together.

They kept hugging each other for a while and would've probably fallen asleep like that if it weren’t for Allura coming in.

The braid and flowers were gone, her hair instead was up in the bun she always had it on when she was doing a debriefing, and her white sundress was replaced with her custom pink garrison uniform.

The siblings detangled themselves from their embrace as Allura apologized for interrupting and insisted that she could just come back a different time.

Veronica, instead, declined and stood up.

Before she left, she placed a kiss on the top of Lance's head and said, for his ears only, “I’m proud of you Leandro, te quiero.” 

Then she was gone.

And all there was left were Lance and Allura.

Silence filled the room for the thousandth time that day, but while it used to be comforting, all it felt now was suffocating.  Like two imaginary hands were reaching out and wrapping around Lance's neck, reaching out and squeezing the air out of his lungs.

Two hands that, strangely enough, in his mind were the same caramel skin tone as the hands that were currently intertwined with his. The same hands that were attached to a muscular arm that was attached to a strong woman with hair like snow and eyes like gemstones.

Like topazes.

But all he could think about were amethysts.

 

Amethysts.

 

Purple.

 

_ Keith. _

 

_ Keith. _

 

_ Keith. _

 

_ A genuine smile and a soft expression Lance couldn’t decipher. “We did it. We are a good team.” _

 

Lance didn't understand.

He didn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:  
> "Mierda, Veronica, morí y ustedes no hubieran sabido nada. I died y si no fuera por Allura" - 'Shit, Veronica, i died and you guys wouldn't have known anything. I died and if it wasn't for Allura'
> 
> Cojone Vero, tengo diecinueve años y morí y si no fuera por Allura - Fuck Vero, i'm nineteen years old and i died and if it weren't for Allura
> 
> era de instinto - it was by instinct
> 
> Ni me di cuenta lo que hice - i didn't even notice that i did it
> 
> Puta madre, Vero, fue la cosa más peor en mi vida - son of a bitch, Vero, it was the worst thing in my life
> 
> Tenía tanto miedo - i was so afraid
> 
> No lo sé...Tengo una idea - i don't know...i have an idea
> 
>  
> 
> So originally i had this chapter half written before exams started but then last night at like 4am i decided to open the file and just re-do the chapter and i'm honestly kinda proud with how it turned out (much better than how it originally was). So i decided to update today and tell you guys that i am no longer on hiatus, technically. Next week i'm going to Cuba and i'll be staying there for a week so i won't be able to update but i'll try to write if i have some free time. I'm trying to wrap up this fic as soon as i can because i have several fics i've been wanting to write, some of them including a modern witch type of story that'll take a while before i actually start writing it, and a recent idea about klance during the fall of the berlin wall in 1989. Hope you guys liked this new chapter!

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked it and i'll try my best to update soon :)


End file.
